St. Louis was founded by Métis settlers in the late 19th century. It is the northernmost of the Southbranch Settlement communities, a string of Métis communities that runs along the South Saskatchewan River from Fish Creek in the south through Batoche and St. Laurent to St. Louis. The village incorporated on May 19, 1959.
The land around St. Louis has a much longer story. A large archaeological site of Indigenous artifacts here predates those found at Wanuskewin near Saskatoon. Discoveries there have included a new species of wolf, a buffalo about 25% larger than modern ones, and a bead showing that clothing was decorated about 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. The village also sits just northeast of South Branch House, one of many small fur trade posts, which the Atsina attacked and burned in the 18th century in retaliation for the company supplying their enemies, the Cree and Assiniboine, with guns and goods.
Highway 2 once ran through the village but now bypasses it several kilometres to the east. Today St. Louis is known for the St. Louis light, a supposed paranormal anomaly, as well as the historic St. Louis Bridge and the beauty of the South Saskatchewan River. A large sculpture of the extinct, larger bison stands on display; it was the last work of Ralph Berg, who made other monumental pieces in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “St. Louis, Saskatchewan” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.